CREATING A SAFE SPACE FOR YOUNG MAYAN GIRLS

Claudia*, a Mayan girl visiting from her village home in El Cerro Grande, arrived at a Guatemala City hospital with severe abdominal pains. After a brief medical exam she was released by the doctor, who found nothing wrong with her.

Claudia belongs to Guatemala’s most disadvantaged group: indigenous young females. Girls like her typically live in isolated rural communities with limited access to basic services like water, sanitation, passable roads, schooling, and health care. Their lives are marked by early marriage, frequent childbearing, social isolation, violence, and chronic poverty. Often they are disregarded by more affluent Guatemalans, like the doctor who examined her.

Given her background, Claudia might have accepted the doctor’s dismissal of her symptoms. She might have left the hospital in pain and suffered with the infection later diagnosed as appendicitis. But Claudia is no ordinary girl. She is an Abriendo Oportunidades (“Opening Opportunities”) girl.

To help Claudia and girls like her reach their full potential, the Population Council works with the public sector, local government, and nongovernmental organizations to administer and evaluate Abriendo Oportunidades, a program that provides safe spaces where girls can develop friendships, play sports, interact with older female mentors who serve as role models, and learn practical skills like managing their health and their finances. The girls also receive paid internships that provide income and experience. These opportunities change the way girls think about themselves and their abilities—and, as they take on new roles in the community, they help to change the way their families and communities think about the value of girls.

With the self-confidence and help of friendships nurtured at Abriendo, Claudia recognized the doctor’s biased attitudes. She sought the care she knew and believed she deserved. At a second hospital she was correctly diagnosed and treated, and today she is healthy as a result of her own actions.

Abriendo is part of a sisterhood of programs for adolescent girls created by the Population Council to empower the poorest girls in the poorest communities. Two similar Council programs, Ishraq (“Sunrise”) for out-of-school girls in conservative rural Upper Egypt and Biruh Tesfa (“Bright Future”) for domestic servants in the urban capital of Ethiopia, were also recognized by Women Deliver’s expert panel. By administering and evaluating these programs, the Council provides evidence that shows developing countries the value of investing in girls’ lives.

Now that we’ve demonstrated the power of Abriendo, the Council’s goal is to support the continued expansion of the program into a national network of regularly evaluated girls clubs. Most Abriendo girls remain connected to each other and the program through a rural girls’ network, contributing to the program’s sustainability and growth. “Graduates” are hired for supervisory positions to expand the effort. Many have continued their education and found jobs. Further, most stay in their communities, where they become leaders, advocates, and examples of and catalysts for social change. Eventually, the program will be fully self-supported and girl-powered, fueled by the resources and energy channeled back into the clubs by each successive group of newly empowered graduates.

Responses

Wow how inspiring! Its so sad they are living like that in these towns. Claudia is an amazing woman and helping all these young woman strive for their full potential is just beautiful. Thank you for sharing

It’s sad to read Claudia’s story and the terrible thing about it is that this really does happen. I don’t understand how a physician can turn a patient away based on their sex. No matter what the cultural beliefs of a country, no person should ever be denied medical care. Healthcare professionals take an oath and one of their duties is to do no harm. Not treating a patient because of their sex and/or financial class from my understanding is doing harm to someone. I find it extremely inspiring that someone out there has taken the time to do something about this recognized problem. Without the help of groups such as Abriendo Oportunidades, many less fortunate young females would most likely suffer.

The reason that I chose to comment in this blog is because I am a Central American woman who moved to U.S as a teenager. I felt very touched about the story of Claudia the Mayan girl who was sick with abdominal pain and the doctor disregarded her symptoms because his bias about Indians. I myself, as an Indian descendant and Hispanic, had a similar situation when I went to a hospital at18 years of age. I did not speak English, and I was pregnant having contractions. In my culture women in childbirth cannot cry because it is a lack of weakness, therefore I did not want to express my pain. I was very fortunate to find a nurse who understood my situation and she decided to check if I was dilated. To her surprise I was 8 cm dilated. Understanding human diversity in the medical field is very important because it can save a person’s life. Claudia was very fortunate to have an education that “Abriendo Oportunidades” gave her and she realized the doctor’s bias and decided to go to another hospital. Cultural competency must be part of every hospital worldwide. Healthcare providers need to be educated about human diversity because it is a global issue that cannot be forgotten.

It is amazing what knowlege and caring people can bring to the table. This program (Abriendo Oportunidades), has given young women self-worth and taught young women to stand for what they believe is right. In Claudia’s case she would not take no for an answer, and this decsion saved her life. As a community we all need to invest our time into uplifting young people and provdiding knowledge to create a solid foundation. It’s great that there are female mentors that are willing to share their time to teach another young woman how to stand tall and embrace her intelligence and beauty.

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